Kremlin criticises new U.S. pledge to sanction Nord Stream 2 pipeline

MOSCOW, May 21 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Tuesday that U.S. sanctions on Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline to Germany would be an act of unfair competition that would be seen as unacceptable in Moscow and some European capitals.

U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry said earlier on Tuesday in Kiev that a sanctions bill putting onerous restrictions on companies involved in the Nord Stream 2 project would come in the "not too distant future".

The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project has come under fire from the United States and several eastern European, Nordic and Baltic Sea countries which fear it will increase the European Union's reliance on Russian gas.

"This (acts of unfair U.S. competition) is unacceptable not only for us, but also for many European Union countries," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call. (Reporting by Tom Balmforth and Maxim Rodionov; editing by Andrew Osborn)